S02.E03: Hot Shots

[Rinaldo]

Story by David Simon & Ed Burns' teleplay by David Simon; directed by Elodie Keene.

 

The investigation of the bodies steps up, and Omar returns.

[Misstify]

Avon is COLD.

[Rinaldo]

I love seeing Bunk and Lester, impeccably stylish and urbane as always, get as short-tempered as anyone else as they reach their wits' end with the shipmen claiming ignorance of English.

Bunk: "Kunta Kinte? Yabba dabba dabba do."

Lester: "Ha, mishy mushy gishy gushy mishy meshy mushy motherfucker."

 

Last week we saw the humor of Daniels working in Evidence; this week we see the sadness, in the unspoken moments between him and McNulty.

 

One of the great incidental pleasures of the series is the offhand bits of perception offered by unexpected characters, like Landsman welcoming Beatrice Russell to the murder case: "Although there is some small charm to a woman in uniform, the fact remains we work plainclothes in Homicide. Which is not to say that the clothes need be plain. For you I would suggest some pantsuits, perhaps muted in color, something to offset Det. Moreland's pinstriped lawyerly affectations and the brash tweedy impertinence of Det. Freamon."

 

A really touching moment is Prez at detail headquarters, so sincerely wanting this to be an awesome investigation like the one he's just been part of, but everybody else is shrugging it off as a boondoggle.

 

And the Bunk's reliable "Happy now, bitch?" It fits every time. Followed in this case, wonderfully, by him and Lester slinging back at McNulty all the clever deductions he was so smugly bringing them; they got there first. What a terrific scene.

 

One interesting thing Alan Sepinwall pointed out in the course of his recaps is that Frank Sobotka is one of very few characters in the whole series who isn't motivated by self-interest (granted that there's bound to be a sliver of that in even the most altruistic human action): he really wants things to be better for his union and the people he knows, and that's why he makes the (often unfortunate) choices that he does. It makes for an unexpected angle, watching the show with this in mind.

 

And then, yes, Avon's stone-cold move in the last sequence. He didn't even make all that sure that his nephew would live, but D followed his "advice."

[Misstify]

Yes…Landsman's speech on all of their clothing was priceless.

 

Also: the introduction of Blind Butchie.  "Hearin' is believing'!"  Was there, in real life, a blind bartender/drug-dealer?  I find him slightly larger-than-life in an Omar kind of way.  

 

It's been a while since I watched season 2, and I don't remember everything.  So I was quite nervous for the puppy in the puppy-vs-rat scene. 

 

I think I'll wait till the end of the rewatch to decide whether I think Frank is un-self-interested (at this point--I agree he is not personally enriching himself, but he does now know there's human trafficking going on, and he's willing to let that slide, all in pursuit of preserving a way of life that happens to be his way of life).

[Brooklynista]

Would Avon have been satisfied with hisself if D'Angelo had been a victim of the hot shots? I can never decide what the look on his face means in the closing scene. He doesn't seem the least bit worried that D'Angelo could possibly use the tainted package he unleashed on the prison.

[Misstify]

I think if Dee had been a victim of the hot shots, Avon would have told himself it was Dee's fault for 1. ignoring Avon's warning and 2. being weak and using drugs in the first place.  And he may have even been a bit relieved if Dee had been gotten out of the picture "accidentally on purpose".  I think that's why he doesn't look at all worried.  

[Jordan Baker]

One interesting thing Alan Sepinwall pointed out in the course of his recaps is that Frank Sobotka is one of very few characters in the whole series who isn't motivated by self-interest (granted that there's bound to be a sliver of that in even the most altruistic human action): he really wants things to be better for his union and the people he knows, and that's why he makes the (often unfortunate) choices that he does. It makes for an unexpected angle, watching the show with this in mind.

 

I read Alan Sepinwall's blog after I watch each episode. I really appreciate the blog because it often helps me with things I missed and also (sometimes) it just helps me straighten out who's who.

 

I agree that Frank is one of the most selfless of the characters. And, BTW, the actor who plays Frank Sobotka (Chris Bauer) is exceptional in the role. He was born to play this part.  

[KnoxForPres]

I was also terrified at the dog and rat scene. My own dog was barking like mad at that scene and I feared she had a sixth sense for her fellow man.

I didn't grow up knowing many cops so maybe it's normal, but a Lieutenant having a law degree surprises me. Can't get my head around that one in a "real life"'way.

Agree had D used the bad drugs, it would be viewed as his own fault. And when you have a plan and working on the inside, he's of little use if addicted. Selfishly, I was glad because that's the character I must root for.

Also liked how (Avon?) took the library book in what I viewed as a foil to make it look like he had purpose for being in the library. And there he is reading the book in the final scene.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Last week we saw the humor of Daniels working in Evidence; this week we see the sadness, in the unspoken moments between him and McNulty.

I was ridiculously happy when Prez's father-in-law insisted on putting Lieut. Daniels on the union investigation.  Daniels is probably my favorite character.

 

Stringer absolutely oozed pheromones in his scene with Dee's ex.  What a performance.  Omar, too, now that I think about it.  

 

In general, whoever did the casting for this show did a phenomenal job.

 

I didn't like Landsman as much as others because I thought he was incredibly patronizing.  However, I like the word "impertinence".  You don't hear that too much these days.

 

What is a hot shot?  I have no idea what it is or what the consequences are.  Are the inmates sick or are they dead?

 

I am sad to say I am quickly losing all interest in the stories of the dockworkers and the dead girls.

[KnoxForPres]

I was ridiculously happy when Prez's father-in-law insisted on putting Lieut. Daniels on the union investigation. Daniels is probably my favorite character.

Stringer absolutely oozed pheromones in his scene with Dee's ex. What a performance. Omar, too, now that I think about it.

In general, whoever did the casting for this show did a phenomenal job.

I didn't like Landsman as much as others because I thought he was incredibly patronizing. However, I like the word "impertinence". You don't hear that too much these days.

What is a hot shot? I have no idea what it is or what the consequences are. Are the inmates sick or are they dead?

I am sad to say I am quickly losing all interest in the stories of the dockworkers and the dead girls.

Hot shot is a drug laced or cut with something poisonous per the urban dictionary. My guess is they'll die because I can't imagine Baltimores finest MDs giving the prisoners best treatment. From the gurney shots, it didn't look good for them.

I'm with you toxicunicorn on the shipyard plot. It's not captivating me yet either. Hopefully we will look back at words and have a hearty chuckle together over how awesome it gets

Though, totally off topic but thats exactly how I feel about The Wall on Game of Thrones. 3 seasons in and I still don't give a damn about it or anything even related to it.

[GodsBeloved]

One interesting thing Alan Sepinwall pointed out in the course of his recaps is that Frank Sobotka is one of very few characters in the whole series who isn't motivated by self-interest (granted that there's bound to be a sliver of that in even the most altruistic human action): he really wants things to be better for his union and the people he knows, and that's why he makes the (often unfortunate) choices that he does. It makes for an unexpected angle, watching the show with this in mind.

I can't say if this was my impression initally or after a few rewatches but I saw Frank being motivated by self interest. I thought him being  "the man" who got things done was his buzz if you will. He loved being  the man everyone could come to if they had a problem and he would solve it. He told Nick to come to him instead of boosting cameras. He gave New Charles' wife that envelope full of money. He gave that one union worker who was going to change unions money to go get a drink and think about it and if he wanted to change in the morning, Frank would be behind him. The guy takes the money, gets the drink and is handed a wad of cash ... from Frank Sobotka!

Edited October 2, 2014 by GodsBeloved

[ToxicUnicorn]

Yes, I agree with your impression so far of Frank, GodsBeloved.  I don't get much for him except that he's dour, scowls or worries a lot, is more concerned about the port's reputation (and business) than the ethics of stealing anything, and that he might care about his fellow union members (or he might care about keeping his numbers up, hard to tell which).

 

His family life isn't too pleasant, he hangs out with his fellow workers or at the bar, his son's an embarrassment, and his nephew barely gets any work.  I suppose I could chalk that all up to the culture and the economy, but it doesn't make me like him.

 

*ducks*

 

Edited to remove confusion about which episode I'm watching.

Edited October 4, 2014 by ToxicUnicorn

[Rinaldo]

I think the picture (as with the series in general) fills out as one keeps watching. And the idea isn't (as I see it) that we "like" Frank or anyone else, but that we see more sides of them as we keep going. Frank's wish to benefit his fellow workers (if one sees it that way) is one piece of his puzzle -- and brought up in the first place because it's a little bit surprising to recognize; he's by no means an admirable person in every respect. He seems not to have done a good job raising his son (as always, it's hard for any outsider to know where blame falls in such a situation), or in imagining that Ziggy might have not been so bad at a different route in life -- a desk job somewhere -- but is poorly suited to following in his father's work. And in general he chose to blind himself to the fact that his kind of work and life wasn't going to be there for the next generation. But then people is general are bad about that sort of thing.

 

And a caveat/apology, that all this may be informed by my awareness of subsequent episodes. I try to stay innocent of later events and information, but in making generalizations, it's hard to un-know what one knows.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Rinaldo

[ToxicUnicorn]

Rinaldo, I appreciate your encouragement and posts and non-spoiler-y posts very much.  It's good to have someone virtually beside me, telling me it's worth it to stay invested.

 

About Ziggy, I didn't mean to make it sound as though I was blaming Frank.  It's not only hard for an outsider with limited information to know what happens behind closed doors, it's pretty hard to figure out responsibility and causation even if you're right in the thick of things.  There could be all sorts of reasons why Ziggy is the way he is.  However, he is starting to coalesce as a guy who doesn't have it quite together.

 

I'm a little lost about the guy with the laundry basket who was robbed by the women, and the guy watching tv who won't leave his house who Omar wants to flush out for some reason.  I'm assuming right now it's the same guy, and the women have appeared a couple of times now, so they're on my radar.  But I haven't a clue about what's going on there.  

 

Off to watch the next episode!

[Misstify]

The laundry basket guy & guy who won't come out of the house were two stash house robberies.  They were two different guys.  Not giving anything away, here's what happened in those scenes:

 

In the first one, Omar was explaining to his companion that a guy comes out of a certain house twice a day with a laundry basket, with the day's take in it.  Omar plans to come back that night and rob him, but just as he's speaking, two women run up and rob the laundry basket guy (Omar: "Now that's something you don't see every day.").

 

The second one was a guy named Stump who has a steel door and does not come out of the house (making him more difficult to rob).  Omar explains that Stump lives there, so he never has to come out if he doesn't want to.  Because of the steel door, Omar and friend can't just storm in.  They team up with the women, who trick Stump into opening the door.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Thank you so much, Misstify!  I wasn't expecting an answer, but I love them just the same.

 

While I am here, I want to say that I was startled by the difference in music in the opening credits this season (and I didn't like it in S2 E1).  It took me until now to realize it is the same song.  I'm getting used to it and I realize how much I love the song itself for this show.  It's perfect.

[Jordan Baker]

Thank you so much, Misstify!  I wasn't expecting an answer, but I love them just the same.

 

While I am here, I want to say that I was startled by the difference in music in the opening credits this season (and I didn't like it in S2 E1).  It took me until now to realize it is the same song.  I'm getting used to it and I realize how much I love the song itself for this show.  It's perfect.

 

I have really enjoyed both versions of the song. I'm at the end of Season 2 now and am actually looking forward to seeing which version of the song awaits me in Season 3. I agree that it's a perfect song for the show.